Twenty-Six
by Xx-silent-assassin-xX
Summary: As his last hours tick away, his lover comes to say goodbye


**I have no reason why I have taken so long to write anything. It all comes down to lack of motivation, working a lot, and my brain refusing to cooperate. But fear not! I have the next two chapters of Living the Dream planned out and hopefully I can find the time to sit down and get them out to you all withing the next week or so. Until then, thank you so much for your patience and I hope this will help tide you over in the meantime.**

\- TW -

The steady beat of the heart monitor was the only sound to be heard in the dark room. A lone bed sat with an old man laying, his eyes closed, with slow, steady breathing. A young man entered quietly, nerves and upset battling in his stomach. He approached the bed silently, taking the single seat next to it.

Fingers tapped against his leg for several moments before he reached forward, grabbing a withered hand and squeezing gently. Tired blue eyes opened slowly, recognition clear despite the haze that was visible.

"Sorry I haven't been by sooner. Work and all that." A bitter laugh left his lips and he wished he had taken the last few days off. Especially now that he knew they only had an hour left together. He sighed, giving the hand another squeeze. "We've known this was coming for so long now... But... I'm still so unprepared."

The man on the bed made a small noise in the back if his throat, having lost the ability to speak in the last year. There was do much he wanted to say, needed to say before he died, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the words to come.

The younger seemed to understand though, a sad smile tugging at his mouth. There was a long moment of silence between the two, both caught up in their own thoughts. "You know... I can still remember when it happened. God, I was do stupid. I should've been paying more attention. This wouldn't have happened." A small squeeze at his hand made him sigh, and he had to look away. "I know, I know. It wasn't my fault." He still felt guilty though, despite all the time that's past. Closing his eyes, he could still remember the day that it happened, the details so clear in his mind...

\- TW -

"Ianto!" Jack called in a panic, watching as the alien blasted his lover with a bright light. He grit his teeth, aiming his gun, but before he could pull the trigger, the creature vanished. He didn't waste any time before hurrying to the other's side, who was doubled over in pain. Cupping his jaw, he tilted his head up to get a better look. He didn't appear to be outwardly injured, but he led him to the medical bay anyway to run some tests.

Everything came back negative. There was nothing wrong with him. Owen kept a close eye on him over the next several weeks, but still nothing happened. It wasn't until several weeks later that their initial assessment was wrong. They did what they could to fix things, but nothing seemed to help. All they could do was keep him out of harms way and hope for the best.

\- TW -

Now here they were, years later and a full, long live having been lived. The man on the bed had been happy with his lover by his side, they had even started a family and their little ones had grown and moved on. But now that it was approaching the end, he was glad he wasn't going through this alone. The younger of the two gave the older's hand another squeeze, seeing that their time was running short. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the withered forehead before standing, knowing he'd have to leave soon.

"I love you..." he said, voice thick with tears. He had to be strong though and move on. He stayed by the old man's side until the monitor flat lined, and he stepped away towards the door. He paused in the doorway, needing to say one last thing before walking away forever.

"Good bye Jack..."

With that, Ianto Jones stepped from the room, head held high and tears in his eyes as he moved forward into his future, having not aged a day past 26.

 **\- Tw -**

 **So how'd you like it? If anyone's confused, what the alien did was switch Ianto's life force with whoever touched him first, which so happened to be Jack. So Jack was turned mortal and Ianto couldn't die. Make sense? I hope you all enjoyed it!**


End file.
